At a glance
| Line | What it changes in the work | Ask each tenderer | Closed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Species and cut | Which timber is bought, and how much of each board is usable. | Which species and cut, and what knot and sapwood limits did you price? | Clauses 2, 3, 4 |
| 2 Board | Board family, grade and thickness change material, machining and finish. | Which board, to what standard and grade, what thickness, balanced? | Clause 7 |
| 3 Veneer | Leaf thickness, grade, match and sequence set the veneer used and the waste. | Which species, cut, match, thickness and backer? | Clause 8 |
| 4 Drawers and runners | Box material, joint and runner class set the parts and the labour. | Box material and joint, runner type and load rating? | Clauses 9, 10 |
| 5 Hinges and hardware | Type, number per door, finish and rating. | Which reference, how many per door, which finish? | Clause 10 |
| 6 Finish system | Coats, drying time, sheen, colour match and which faces are finished. | System, number of coats, sheen, insides finished? | Clause 11 |
| 7 Edges and joints | Edge treatment and joint type set the machining and hand work. | Which edge, which carcase joint, which back panel? | Clause 9 |
| 8 Sizes and yield | Sizes that sit awkwardly on standard boards leave offcuts. | Finished or nominal sizes? Which board size assumed? | Clause 5 |
| 9 Certificates and tests | Certification, test reports and declarations take time to gather. | Which documents are included in the price? | Clause 12 |
| 10 Site work | Survey, access, lifting, fitting and protection. | What delivery and fitting is included, on what access assumptions? | Clauses 1, 6 |
Clause numbers refer to the twelve-clause checklist in the joinery specification factsheet (TL-JOI-03). No prices or percentages are given: what moves a price depends on the piece, the workshop and the date.
One drawing, three readings
When three bespoke quotes for the same drawing arrive far apart, the first suspicion is usually the wrong one. It is rarely that one tenderer is careless and another generous. More often the specification left a line open, and each tenderer, pricing in good faith, closed it differently: one read the board as a standard grade, another as a better one, a third priced the insides unfinished.
The drawing below shows the effect with invented readings. Every marker is a reasonable reading of the same loose line. A tender whose markers sit mostly on the left has priced a lighter version of the work, which is not the same as the same work for less.
Look for the line, not the total
The table at the top lists the ten lines where readings most often part. For each one it says what the line changes in the work, so you can see why a different reading moves the price, and the question to put to every tenderer. None of the lines is exotic. They are the substrate, the veneer, the drawer, the hinge, the finish and the paperwork: the ordinary parts of a bespoke piece.
Tip: when two quotes differ, find the line before you ask for a discount. A discount asked of a tender that has priced the lighter reading will only widen the gap in what you receive.
Compare like with like in five steps
Comparison is a procedure, not a judgement. Run the same steps on every tender:
- Put the quotes beside the ten lines. For each line, write down what each tenderer says it has priced, in its own words.
- Mark the blanks. A line a tender does not answer is an assumption, not a match.
- Issue the closed wording to every tenderer at the same time as a clarification, and ask each to confirm or reprice against it.
- Price the gaps as options. Ask for the difference between a lighter and a fuller reading of a line as a separate figure, so nothing is re-quoted from scratch.
- Compare totals last. Only after steps 1 to 4 are the totals made of the same things.
What a quote should say it includes
Even with identical materials, two quotes can include different amounts of the job. Ask each tenderer to state these in writing, and treat an unstated item as a question rather than as included.
| Confirm that the quote states | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Drawings and approvals | Whether shop drawings are included, and how many rounds of review the price allows. |
| Samples and prototypes | Which are included, which are extra, and when they are made. |
| Survey | Who surveys, when, and what happens to the price if the dimensions change. |
| Packing and protection | Crating, and protection of the work after it is fitted. |
| Delivery | To which address and floor, on what access assumptions, and who lifts. |
| Installation | Whether fitting and making good are in or out, and who does them. |
| Evidence | Which certificates, test reports and handover documents come with the work. |
| Warranty and aftercare | What cover is offered and for how long. Ask; do not assume. |
| Validity and programme | How long the price holds, and the start and approval dates the programme assumes. |
| Qualifications | Every “subject to”: survey, sample approval, drawing sign-off, access. |
Not every line needs the fullest reading
The answer to a wide spread of quotes is not always to close every line to the highest standard. A hidden carcase may be well served by a plainer reading, and the surfaces the client sees and touches may need the fullest one. Decide which is which, write it down line by line, and record any change you accept as a variation so that nothing is quietly lost. For the longer discussion, see our guides to value engineering and to specifying bespoke joinery.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Tenderers are to state, for each of lines [1 to 10] of the specification, the product, grade, thickness, construction and finish priced. A line left blank is taken as priced exactly to the specification. Every qualification, exclusion and assumption is listed separately and not in the covering letter.
The tender is to state whether it includes: shop drawings and [number] rounds of review; samples [S-01 to S-05]; site survey; packing and protection; delivery to [address, floor, access]; installation and making good; certificates and test reports [list]; handover documents; warranty [period and terms offered]. Price validity [ ] days. Programme assumes drawing approval by [date].
Clarification [number], issued to all tenderers on [date]: lines [numbers] are closed as follows: [wording]. Tenderers are to confirm that their price is made on this wording, or to state the change in price, by [date].
Where a tender has priced a lighter reading of line [number] than the specification requires, the difference to the specified reading is to be priced as a separate option. Alternatives are accepted only by written approval from [designer], and each is recorded as a variation.
Terms used on this page
- Prescriptive specification
- States exactly what products, materials and workmanship are required. Design responsibility stays with the design team.
- Descriptive specification
- States the result required and leaves a specialist or contractor to design how. Design responsibility generally passes with it.
- Value engineering
- A structured review of a design to reduce cost without losing the function the client needs. Each change should be recorded and approved.
- Variation order
- A written instruction to change what was agreed, stating its effect on price and time.
Standards and sources
- NBS: RIBA Plan of Work 2020 and specification: prescriptive and descriptive specification; shop drawings (page read 5 Nov 2026).
- Make Bespoke Studio journal: How to specify bespoke joinery: briefing a joinery package.
- Make Bespoke Studio journal: Value engineering in interior design: changing a design to meet a budget.
Questions we are asked
Why are my joinery or furniture quotes so different?
Usually because the specification left lines open and each tenderer read them differently: the species and cut, the board, the veneer, the drawer and runner, the hinge, the finish system, the edges and joints, the sizes, the paperwork and the site work. The difference in the total is then a difference in what was priced.
How do I compare bespoke quotes like for like?
Put the quotes beside the same list of lines, write what each tenderer says it has priced, mark every blank, issue the closed wording to all tenderers at the same time, ask for the gaps to be priced as options, and compare the totals last.
Is the cheapest quote the one to avoid?
Not necessarily. A lower quote may be priced on a lighter reading of a line that does not matter for the design, which is fine if the specification says so. It becomes a problem when the lighter reading is a silent assumption rather than an agreed choice.
What should a bespoke quote include?
At minimum it should state its drawings and approvals, samples, survey, packing, delivery, installation, evidence and documents, warranty, validity and programme assumptions, and every qualification. Ask for each in writing; an unstated item is a question, not an inclusion.
Can I ask tenderers to reprice after I clarify the specification?
Yes, if the clarification goes to every tenderer at the same time and on the same wording. Check the rules of the contract or procurement route you are using, because they can limit how tenders may be changed.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the ten lines, the drawing, the five comparison steps and the tender-return wording, to keep with your project file.